Stanley Roy Pedersen faces up to seven years in prison if
convicted of shooting the federally protected sea lions, whose
population off Alaska has plummeted by 90 percent in the last 40
years to about 16,000.

A deckhand testified that over a one-month period in 1999 he saw
Pedersen shoot at sea lions nine or 10 times when the animals got
too close to their boat or salmon nets.

“When sea lions showed up, he typically grabbed that shotgun
and began shooting,” Bobby Croom said Tuesday, the first day of
the trial. Croom also said he believed Pedersen killed a sea lion
with his 12-gauge shotgun.

Pedersen is charged with shooting at Steller sea lions,
protected under the Endangered Species Act, and two counts of
illegally possessing a firearm because he is a convicted felon.

Animals With Hearty Appetites

The massive creatures have a voracious appetite and are a source
of irritation for fishermen whose livelihoods can depend on
catching the same fish that sea lions eat.

Pedersen’s lawyer said the case is a fabrication, describing the
prosecution’s witnesses as a “pack of liars” who are trying to
get back at him because they think he owes them money.

“There is no tangible evidence. There is no gun, no bullets...
there have been no dead sea lions found,” Robin L. Koutchak said.

Bottini told the jury that in order to find Pedersen guilty they
do not need to find that he killed sea lions. Under the law, it is
illegal for any person to shoot at or in any way harass them,
Bottini said.